Cassandra
by Somebody's Dark Angel
Summary: 2 in my series. Andie tells her story...


Cassandra**** Written by Sammi: trinity_child2001@yahoo.com.au 

Disclaimer:  I don't often put these on my fics, because I find it unnecessary, I mean if any of the authors on ff.net really owned the characters/places etc. do you really think they'd be posting the stories on a website and not implement them into to actual show/book/movie?  However, I felt it was needed in this instance because I have borrowed the plot of Roald Dahl's book 'Matilda' for part of this story, purely for fictional purposes and do not own any part of the book, and/or Charmed.

Takes place two days after my previous fic, you need to read it before this one.  Andie isn't living with the girls, she's still living with her adoptive mother but she sees them almost every day.  Oh, and Jack (Sheridan) is Prue's boyfriend.  They've been going out for a while, after Jack apologised for everything.  Oh, and Jack knows about Andie (that she's Prue & Andy's daughter and everything).

It was a Friday night, and everyone was at the manor.  No-one had a date, even though Jack, Leo and Cole were all there.  They were getting ready to have a family video night when the doorbell rang.  Prue got off Jack's lap to answer it.

"Andie hi!"  came Prue's voice from the foyer.

"Hi mom."  Andie replied.

They appeared in the doorway, and various greetings were exchanged.

"So what brings you here?" Piper asked once they were all settled down again.

"When I first came here, Phoebe wanted to know how I found you guys.  Well, it's been a while now, and I figured that you guys should know."

"OK, we're always ready for a story."  Phoebe said.

"And now we've got time for the long version."  Leo added

Andie sat down on the arm of the couch and began her story.

"The first two years of my life were absolute bliss.  I had been adopted by a couple who couldn't have children of their own, and so they lavished love and attention on me.  But then when I was two, everything fell apart."

"What happened?"  Prue asked gently.

"She fell pregnant and twins.  Suddenly I wasn't important anymore, or even part of the family.  As far as they were concerned, I didn't exist. They ignored me and I had to do everything myself.  When I was four I cooked my own meals and washed my own clothes.  I had taught myself to read shortly after the twins were born, and everyday I walked to the library alone, to escape in the fantasy world of books.  My adoptive mother didn't care where I went, she was too busy caring for her own children.  They enrolled me in school when I was five, so I they could get rid of me during the day.  On the first day of school I walked into the classroom alone."  Andie had tears in her eyes by this point, along with everyone else in the room.

Piper softly spoke, "how could anyone do that to a child?"

"They did alright, and, it never stopped.  I was just someone who lived in the house, not part of the family at all.  It was only when I started school that I realised how horrible they were.  I quickly made friends, and was shocked to find that their parents washed their clothes and cooked for them.  That was when my power first appeared.  I was so angry with them for putting me through all of that.  
It all started when my adoptive mother was yelling at me for some reason or another.  I was standing in the middle of my room and she was storming down the hall.  I was staring at the door, wishing it would shut when suddenly it did, and then the lock clicked shut.  I just stared at it, and sat on my bed.  I wondered if I had done that.  Then I tried to move a pen on my desk and it flew onto the floor.  That's when I knew I had special powers.  I soon learned how to control it, and became very good at using it.  It was around this time that I met Miss Blake.  She was my 1st grade teacher, and I have never met a nicer person.  I was really bright and Miss Blake thought that I should skip a grade or two.  But the principal wouldn't hear of it.  She was really horrible, she locked kids in this cupboard and threw kids around."  Everyone looked horrified, but no-one said anything, so Andie continued.

"My adoptive parents wouldn't let me either.  They slammed the door in Miss Blake's face when she came to talk to them.  So I stayed in 1st grade and Miss Blake gave me harder work to do while she taught the class their times tables and stuff.  
Every week, the principal, her name was Miss De Vil, took each grade for one class.  Ours was after recess on Thursday.  And a couple of weeks after school started, it was time for Miss De Vil to take our lesson.  Miss Blake had reminded us to watch our manners while Miss De Vil was there, and she made sure that all the kids has clean faces and hands.  So Miss De Vil came in, and of course she found someone to pick on, and that person just happened to be my best friend Jordan Kane.  Jordan's mother had braided her hair that morning, and it hung down her back in two black pigtails.  Now if there was one thing that Miss De Vil hated more than children, it was pigtails.  So she picked Jordan up by her braids, spun her around a few times, then let go.  
Jordan headed towards the windows, but I unlocked them with my power and she flew through unharmed.  I then guided her over the school fence and safely into a field where she landed unhurt.  Needless to say, Miss De Vil was furious, and looked for a culprit.  But she couldn't prove that anyone had done anything, so she left the classroom.  
That afternoon, Miss Blake invited me to her house for afternoon tea.  I accepted and we walked out the school gates together.  It was during this visit that I learned of Miss Blake's terrible childhood.  Her mother had died in childbirth and her father died six years later."

"How did he die?"  Phoebe asked.

"He was just found dead one say, poisoned.  No-one knew if it was murder or suicide.  So then Miss Blake's aunt moved in to take care of her.  She was horrible to Miss Blake, making her do all the housework and cooking.  And then when Miss Blake was eighteen, and wanted to become a teacher, she threw her out of the house with almost no money.  But what Miss Blake's aunt didn't know was that Miss Blake had a little bit of money saved up.  With this money, she rented a tiny house and paid her way through teaching college.  When she got her teaching job, her aunt told her that she owed her a lot of money, for raising her you see.  So Miss Blake's aunt arranged to have Miss Blake's wages paid into her bank account, with the exception of 20%, which was to be Miss Blake's own money.  So she lived on about $150 a week for three years.  She didn't have much furniture in her house, just a bed, stove and a chair & table.  
I asked Miss Blake how her aunt had managed to keep possession of the house for so long.  She told me that her father's will had never been found, and that her aunt had produced a piece of paper that said that Mr Blake had left the house to his sister-in-law in return for raising me.  No-one could prove that it was a forgery, so she got the house.  Then I asked Miss Blake who her aunt was."

Andie grew quiet for a moment, prompting Jack to ask, "Who was it?"

"Miss De Vil."  Andie hesitantly replied.

Everyone was shocked, and it was very obvious.  Prue, Piper and Phoebe all drew back and the men wrapped their arms tighter around their respective woman.

"Exactly.  Anyway, we talked some more, and I told her about my powers.  She wanted to see me use them, but I decided not to show her at that moment, and instead she walked me home.  I had an idea brewing, but again decided not to tell her about it.  But when we got to my gate, I asked her three questions and she answered them quite truthfully.  
When I got inside the house, I went straight to my room and locked the door.  Then I cleared off my desk and put a pen in the middle.  I went and sat on my bed and used my power to lift the pen.  I practiced for hours, until I was so tired that I fell asleep on my bed.  
After that, every afternoon I would rush home and practice with the pen.  Finally, about a week after I started, I could 'write' in the air with the pen.  I knew then that it was time to put my plan into action.  
The next day was Thursday, and Miss De Vil was due to take us for a lesson.  She asked us about our five times tables, and was holding a boy upside down when I went into action.  I used my power on the chalk, and started writing.  The whole class read the writing out loud.  
_Veronica, this is Oliver.  This is Oliver, and you'd better believe it.  Veronica give my Grace back her house.  _Give_ my Grace her money.  Then get out of town.  If you don't I will get you.  I will get you like you got me.  I am watching you Veronica.  
_Veronica was Miss De Vil's first name.  Oliver was Mr Blake's name and Grace was his daughter, Miss Blake.  
Anyway, after I finished writing, the chalk hit the floor and broke in two.  Then Miss De Vil fainted.  We were all stunned for a few minutes.  The principal, who had never been known to laugh, cry or show any sign of weakness was laying on the floor completely motionless.  One of the boys grabbed a jug of water and poured it over her head.  She woke up and was extremely angry, but also a bit disoriented.  She walked towards the front of the room, but staggered a bit and fell onto to world globe.  Miss Blake looked at me and twirled her finger in a circular motion.  I did the same, and made the globe spin around until Miss De Vil was thrown off.  When she got up off the floor, she ran for the first child she saw, which happened to be one of my closest friends, Tiffany Jacobs.  I quickly levitated her out of the way, and she clung on to one of the ceiling beams for dear life.  
Miss De Vil missed Tiffany, and fell through the open classroom door.  Other doors opened up the corridor, and several faces poked out.  They were extremely surprised to see Miss De Vil lying on the floor, and even more surprised when a barrage of lunch items flew out of our door and hit the principal.  She slowly got up, and turned to face the rest of the school, who were ready with their own lunches.  Miss De Vil ran out of the school as fast as she could, and drove away, never to return again.  
Meanwhile, Tiffany was still hanging onto the ceiling beam in the classroom.  I told her to let go and when she did, I slowly lowered her to the floor with my power.  She was amazed, but didn't ask too many questions, just ran outside the room.  I turned to Miss Blake and she gave me a big hug."  By this time, Andie's throat was parched, and she took a sip of water from the glass Piper had gotten her.  Everyone stared at her, waiting for her to go on.

"The next day, the deputy principal informed us that Miss De Vil had resigned and left town for 'personal reasons' as he put it.  Miss Blake moved back into her childhood home, and I moved up to 4th grade.  From then on, I spent most of my afternoons at Miss Blake's house, where we talked and played for hours.  She told me to call her by her first name, Grace, except when we were at school, so that's what I'll call her for the rest of my story.  
But then one afternoon, a year later, when I got home I found my adoptive parents packing up the house.  When I asked them what was happening, they told me that they were moving to Canada.  I was horrified, and ran to Grace's house.  After explaining what was happening, Grace came with me back to my house.  She asked my adoptive parents if she could adopt me and of course they agreed.  So they signed the adoption papers and left the country with their kids.  I turned to Grace and threw my arms around her neck.  I was finally free of the people who had been haunting my life for four years.****

Three years later, when I went into high school, I met another girl who had been adopted.  We became friends and she told me that she had met her birth parents, and kept in touch with them regularly.  That was when I decided to find my own birth parents.  Grace agreed with my decision, and she did everything she could to help me.  It was really hard, because we had no idea where my adoptive parents were, and they had my birth certificate which had the names of my birth parents on it.  So we had to start from scratch, and it took five years to find you.  I eventually found out that you lived in San Francisco and that Dad lived in New York.  Then I had to figure out who I wanted to see first, as it was obvious that you weren't still together.  I lived in Washington at the time, in Seattle.  Grace advised me to come here first, as she thought that my mother would be more receptive than my father.  So we moved here."

"Grace moved here with you?"  Phoebe asked incredulously.

"Yep.  She is my legal guardian now, and besides, she decided that she needed a job at a different school, so she got a job here, and then we moved."  Andie replied.

"Speaking of school, didn't it disrupt your schooling when you moved here?"  Piper questioned.

Andie grinned.  "No, I've finished school.  I graduated two years ago.  I was working full time as a waitress while I tried to decide what to do with myself."

Phoebe gaped at Andie, before recovering her voice "You graduated at 13?  That is so not fair!"

Andie smiled again, but didn't say anything.

"So where is this Grace?  Why haven't we met her?"  Leo asked.

"She's working at the moment.  I wasn't sure whether I wanted you guys to meet her yet, but I guess it won't hurt anything.  Next time I come, I'll bring her too."

Prue had stayed quiet for the whole of Andie's story, and now Andie noticed.

"What's wrong mom?"  she asked.

"I'm just realising how much grief I've put you through.  Just because I was too selfish to take responsibility for you, you had to go through that awful life.  I'm so, so sorry."  Prue burst out crying and took Andie in her arms, sobbing into her daughter's hair.

Andie stroked Prue's arm and whispered so that only she could hear.  "But if you didn't, I would have never been able to make Grace's life better."

Prue calmed down a bit when she heard what Andie said, and realised that her daughter was right.  By her giving up her daughter, Prue had allowed Andie to help someone else, even if it meant a hard life for herself.  And she also realised that Andie didn't resent her for what she had done.  Prue now knew that Andie loved her unconditionally, as all children do, and that she didn't blame Prue for anything bad that had happened to her.

TO BE CONTINUED…

Tell me what you think!  Yeah, that one's finished but there are more to come, I can assure you of that.

Oh, and by the way, just to clear up some confusion.  Andie graduated 12th grade when she was 13.  She moved into 4th grade when she was six, and went into high school when she was nine.


End file.
